This must be the most commonly found Euphorbia in most parts of Ireland. It's an upright, hairless, greenish-yellow annual and is found on disturbed ground (and in my garden) and other waste places. Like others in this family, the little flowers lack petals and sepals, instead having a circle of yellowish bracts enclosing a single female ovary which is surrounded by a cluster of male flowers. The leaves are oval, broadest near to the tip. The plant grows to a height of 30-40 cm and usually faces up to the sun, flowering from May to late September. The species name 'helioscopia' is Greek for sun-gazer. The seeds of this plant are 3-lobed capsules which are scattered on the ground when ripe. This plant is highly poisonous, was probably introduced into Ireland and belongs to the family Euphorbiaceae.

I first knew this plant in the 1950's in my parents' garden in Dundrum, Co Dublin. It was photographed in my own garden in Gibletstown, Co Wexford in 2008.